Guyana is among a number of Caribbean Community (Caricom) territories that have secured approval for development-oriented projects by the recently established UK-funded Caribbean Aid For Trade and Regional Integration Trust Fund (CARTFund).

A recent release from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) under whose aegis CARTFund is being administered indicated that among the ten projects that have already secured CARTFund approval are two from Guyana on trade transaction processing and competition and consumer protection. CARTFund is also considering project proposals from the Barbados Private Sector Association, the Caricom Secretariat and hotel workers in Jamaica. The fund has also given its approval to project proposals submitted by the Caricom Secretariat and the Caribbean Export Development Agency.

CARTFund will pump US$6 million into the realisation of the ten project proposals, according to the CDB release, while another 14 projects are currently being appraised by the bank. According to the bank the project pipeline has exceeded initial expectations and can therefore exhaust the available funding. The release said the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) is considering more resources for the fund.

CARTFund was established at the CDB in March last year with five million pounds sterling funding from DFID to support regional implementation of the European Partnership Agreement (EPA). The CDB release said “the fund was born out of the UK’s commitment to provide additional Aid for Trade resources to the region and the tireless efforts of CDB, DFID and Caricom/Cariforum officials to quickly find a viable mechanism to deliver the funding.”

CARTFund resources are managed by the CDB from the application phase to project completion and the Fund Steering Committee comprising DFID, Caricom and Cariforum representatives is responsible for project approval and overall strategic oversight of the Fund.